Booneville, Miss. - It has been four weeks since the Northeast Mississippi Community College women's basketball team took the court for its last game prior to the Christmas break.
That does not mean that the Lady Tigers stopped putting in the necessary work to be ready for the heart of the Mississippi Association of Community and Junior Colleges (MACJC) North Division schedule.
The home stretch of the 2017-18 season begins this Thursday, January 11 when Northwest Mississippi Community College visits the City of Hospitality. Women's tipoff is at 5:30 p.m. with the men to follow inside historic Bonner Arnold Coliseum.
Fans can watch every remaining contest this season for the Lady Tigers, both home and on the road, live and in high definition by accessing www.nemcctv.com on your smartphone, computer or tablet device.
The Northeast Broadcasting Network also includes new radio affiliate WOWL Fun 91. With the exception of Northeast's doubleheader versus Northwest, which will air on Fun 91's sister station 95.3 FM The Bee, an audio simulcast can be heard on frequencies 91.9 FM from Burnsville, 92.9 FM from Florence, Ala., and 102.3 FM from Killen, Ala.
Northeast coach Brenda Mayes brought her team back to campus from the holidays well over one week ago and has run them through a handful of controlled scrimmage contests to simulate the speed of an actual matchup.
"We tried to get back into that game pace," said Mayes. "Pushing the ball up the floor and defending the basket. I've actually seen improvement in several of the girls. The excitement is building for this second half."
Mayes has emphasized that each remaining contest on the Lady Tigers' slate is significant because they count towards both the division standings and the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Region 23 ratings as well.
"They know the importance of every game we play from this point on out," she said. "What I explained to the girls was we need to try to be good at home and really push through and pick them up on the road as well."
Northeast had a stellar fall semester to put themselves into a good position at the beginning of the New Year. The Lady Tigers' eight victories are the most at this point of a season since the 2006-07 campaign and two of their four losses are to the top ranked team in the country in Shelton State (Ala.) Community College.
Success for the Lady Tigers has started in the paint with Aundrea Adams of Corinth and Cherelle Jones from Middleton, Tenn., guiding that effort. The duo combines to average 27.1 points and 17.1 rebounds per game.
Jones is the closer of the two to averaging a double-double with 10.3 points and 9.9 rebounds. Adams is a two-time MACJC Player of the Week winner this year that posts a team-high of 16.8 points.
Booneville's Adallice Young leads what has been a phenomenal freshman class for Northeast with 13.3 points each outing. She is one of three Lady Tigers to start in all 12 matchups so far alongside sophomores Tyra Tucker from Calhoun City and Adams.
Ripley High School graduate Dayzsha Rogan increased her productivity just prior to the holiday layoff. She now places fourth for Northeast with 9.8 points and also boasts a team-best 3.9 assists.
Rogan's numbers help the Lady Tigers tie for seventh in the NJCAA and tops in the Magnolia State with 20.2 asissts. Northeast also ranks 18th nationally with 46.8 rebounds per game and 14th in three-point percentage at 35.6.
The MACJC North Division men's champion earns hosting rights for the state tournament from February 26-March 1. Mississippi College is again the location for the NJCAA Region 23 Tournament from March 6-9.